It was intended to serve both as a compliment and as consolation.
It was offered after yet another near-miss, while on the putting green of the first round of the FedEx Cup series in 2009, as Steve Marino was preparing to roll a few in practice.
"You have officially made my list of 'Best guys never to have won a tournament,'" the easygoing Marino was told.
Marino laughed, then paused for a moment to absorb the thought.
"I'm not sure I want to be on that list," Marino said.
A year and a half later, he's nearly moved to the top of it.
Continuing New World Order's series of lists and rankings, we're exhuming a controversial topic last broached three years ago, before PGA Tour veterans such as Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose, Bo Van Pelt and Ryan Moore had logged their first tournament victories in the States. Those guys have been sprung from the great jailhouse of unfulfilled expectation.
Their prison cells have been refilled.
Sure, the Best Ever list on tour is pretty much the same as it was two or three years ago with guys like Woods, Mickelson and Stricker usually winning multiple stops annually. But the Best Never scoreboard keeps on evolving, even though it's a subject few of its inhabitants are comfortable with.
The affable Marino suffered another flesh wound Sunday night at the Sony Open in Hawaii when he finished in a tie for second with the guy who actually topped our Empty-Handed Chart the last time around, South African veteran Tim Clark. Before he won the Players Championship last May, Clark had established a record for most U.S. earnings without amassing a victory.
Clark and Marino both got beaten at the Sony by Mark Wilson, a resident of Chicago, which as we all know, is nicknamed Second City. Yeah, stew on that odd irony for a while.
The Best Never list is like any ranking -- fluid and subject to weekly change. But until their mantels at home include a trophy, the mantle of expectation is a heavy one.
1. Kevin Na, South Korea; 2. Brian Davis, England; 3. Steve Marino, United States; 4. Jeff Overton, United States; 5. Charlie Wi, South Korea; 6. Rickie Fowler, United States; 7. Jason Dufner, United States; 8. Kevin Streelman, United States; 9. Briny Baird, United States; 10. Brett Quigley, United States.
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